Tuesday, May 12, 2009

TWD: Tartest Lemon Tart

This week’s Tuesday With Dorie recipe was Tartest Lemon Tart, a recipe that utilizes an entire lemon (and a half). I had seen this Whole Lemon Tart on Smitten Kitchen a few months back, and like most of the recipes I see there, was intrigued by it, but hadn’t gotten around to giving it a try (again, like most of the recipes I see there). For a moment I thought using a whole lemon sounded peculiar, but then I thought about how often lemon zest is used in baking, and it didn’t seem strange. I was hoping to use Meyer lemons, since they are so sweet and delicious, but I didn’t see any at Whole Foods when I went shopping. They were stocking lemons as I meticulously searched for the perfect ones for my tart, and a produce guy handed me an enormous one – score!

I decided to make an entire tart rather than a pared down version this week and bring it to my book club. Then I remembered there was a birthday at work on Monday, so I decided to bring the tart to work instead, which turned out to be an auspicious decision, as my book club was postponed until next week. I thought it was kind of fun pulverizing a whole piece of fruit in the food processor, and I was amazed at how quickly this impressive dessert came together. From reading the Problems and Questions on the TWD site, I had anticipated the tart being a bit tangier than mine was - I even used a second half lemon in addition to the giant one. In fact, when I had my boyfriend taste the filling, he thought it was too sweet for a lemon dessert, so I added some extra zest.

I thought the tart was good, but not spectacular. On Sunday evening I ran a couple extra miles in order to have some of the Lemon Icebox Cake from my last post, and I don’t think I would do that for this dessert. My co-workers enjoyed it though, and I had fun making it, so overall it was a success. This recipe gets a 7 for Deliciousness and a 3 for Effort, giving it an EDR of 2.33. Many thanks to Babette of Babette Feasts for giving me a chance to hone my tart skills. You can find the recipe on Babette’s site, and see what the other bakers thought of it via the TWD blogroll.

Your tart looks yummy...all that oozing goodness. I think my tart pan is a little deeper than most as mine did not run over at all. I was kind of disappointed...LOL...as I thought that ooziness was pretty great looking. I have to get Meyer lemons and see what all the fuss is about...you all seem to love them! Great job on your tart.Kaytewww.grandmaskitchentable.typepad.com

I had forgotten about that tart at SK until you mentioned that. Your tart looks good. I think you have to have a lemon with a really thin pith layer for it to work - mine were, which is probably why I liked it. Any more and I probably would have hated it.

Hahaha I just love desserts that you have to run a few extra miles for. Well... I actually HATE desserts that you have to run a few extra miles for... because I hate running those extra miles... you get my point. hahaha I'm glad this was a hit at work, though!

My oldest friend told me once she always used her treadmill just a little extra to work off extra calories so she could eat a cookie. I thought she was just kidding, but I guess not. Glad to know she is not only one.